Retractable shaker conveyor



[45] Patented United States Patent [72] inventor Edward J. Berk Chicago, Illinois [21] AppLNo. 868,645

[22] Filed 0et.22,1969

Continuation of Ser. No.

671,871, Sept. 29, 1967, abandoned Nov. 3, 1970 Westinghouse Air Brake Company Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania a corporation of Pennsylvania [73] Assignee [54} RETRACTABLE SHAKER CONVEYOR 9 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

Primary Examiner- Richard E. Aegerter Attorney-Hill, Sherman, Meroni, Gross & Simpson ABSTRACT: Conveyor for hot foundry sand in the form of a shaker conveyor trough line supported and guided below floor level in a trench for reciprocable conveying movement beneath a grating extending over the trench. A drive unit is mounted in spaced relation with the discharge-end of the shaker conveyor trough line and has driving connection with trough line through an open connecting frame guided for reciprocable movement and connected'with the trough line inwardly of the discharge end of the trough line, to accom modate the discharge of material through the connecting frame. The drive connection between the connecting frame and the shaker conveyor trough line includes an abutment plate or flange on the end of the connecting frame, extending upwardly along opposite sides of the trough line, and a mating abutment plate or flange detachably mounted on a trough of the trough line and bolted or otherwise secured to the abutment plate on the connecting frame. The connecting frame has spaced rollers extending transversely thereof and underlying the trough line and supporting the entire trough line for retraction along the connecting frame, upon the release of the drive connection between the connecting frame and trough line.

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Patented Nov. 3, 1970 Sheet a 00 oo-o oooooooll/f application Ser. No. 67l,87lffllcd Septr26, i967 now abandonodu Heretotora'hot foundry rand hasheen cmptied from mold flasks through a grizzly extending along a trench onto aconveyor extending along the trench. Due tothe heat of the sand, dumped directly from the flask, the conveyor has usuallybcen achain or apron-type of conveyor, which has conveyed the sand to a hopper, 'where it has beentransferred for reclaiming and reuse. With such installations there is frequent spillage of sand over the sides of the conveyor, making it necessaryto clean the trench by hand shovelling. This is alaborious and time-consuming operationsince the trench is relatively narrow and there is very-little clearance between the conveyor and sides of the trenchrlt is'also very difficult tomaintain the 3 conveyor due to these close clearance conditions.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION In carrying outthe-presentinvention l utilize a shaker conover a drive unit forthe trough line. The connecting frame is constructed to form a support for thetrough line, accommodating retraction ofthe trough line from thetrench along the connecting frame, upon disconnection of the drive connection fromithe connecting frame to the trough line, to provide an obstructed free area enabling ready cleaning of the trench, and affording ready access to the supportlrollers, for maintenance.

A principal object ofthe present inventionptherefore, is to .provide an improved form of shaker conveyor particularly adapted for conveying foundry sandalong atrench beneath floor level, and arranged with a view towards efficiently conveying the spent foundrygsand for reclaiming and reuse and ready retraction of the trough line from the trench to provide a free area along the trench to facilitate readycleaning of v the trench, and maintenance of the conveyor.

. Another object. of theinvention is to provide an improved form of retractable shakerconveyor, including a shaker conveyor trough line supported for reciprocable motion in a straight line along a. trench, a drive unit spaced from the discharge end of the trough line, and a drive connection from the drive unit to the trough .line in the form of a connecting frame supported for reciprocable movemennin which the connecting frame forms a support .for and accommodates ready retraction of the trough line to enable ready cleaning of the trench and maintenance of the trough line.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved form of shaker conveyor for conveyinghot foundry sand and the like, in the form of conveyortrough line supported and guided for reclprocable movement in a straight linealong a trench, in which the drive unit for the trough line is spaced from the dischargeend of the troughline and drives the trough line through an open connecting frame connected with the trough line by a detachable abutment drive connection, in which rollers spaced along the connecting frame form a support for the trough line, upon disconnection of the drive con? nection, and accommodate the trough line to be readily withdrawn from the trench along the connecting frame.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to'the accompanying drawings.

DESCRiPTlON or rue oaswnvcs FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a'shaker conveyor constructed inaccordance with the principles of the present invention with the trench broken away;

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of the shaker conveyor shown in FIG. 1 withthe trench for the trough line, and the pit for the shaker conveyor drive shown in vertical section;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line lll-lll of FlG.;2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elcvational-view similar to FIG. 2 and showing the shaker conveyor trough line in its retracted position;

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along line V-V of FIG. 4, with certain parts broken away; and

H6. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary partial side elevations! view illustrating the drive connection from the connecting frame to the shaker conveyor trough line.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODlMENT in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, l have shown in FIG. 2, a trench 10 extending beneath floor leveland having a shaker conveyor trough line 11 extending alongthe bottom of said trench, and supported and guided for reciprocable movement with a shaker conveying action in a straight line. The shaker conveyor trough line 11 extends beneath a grizzly or grating 12, extending over the trench at floor level, through which hot foundry sand is discharged from the mold flasks onto said trough line ill to be conveyed to a hopper 13 in a pit 15 leading from said trench. The hopper 13 in turn is arranged to discharge the foundry sandto a conveyor 16, supported therebeneath and conveying the sand for reclaiming andreuse.

The trench i0 is shown inFlG. 3 in cross section as being wider at itsbottom than its top, to provide a throat portion in vertical alignment with connected troughs 17 of the trough line 11. The throat portion is formed by vertical plates l8 and '19 extending along said trench and throat portion, and having downwardly and inwardly flared lower end portions 20 and 21', respectively, serving as baffles to direct the loose material discharged through the grating 12 onto the troughs 17 of the trough line 11.

The troughs 17 are suitably connectedtogether in a cohven tional manner to form the trough line 11 and each have a flat bottom 22 and outwardly flared side walls 23, extending out wardly and upwardly from opposite sides of said bottom. 'As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom and flared sides of the troughs 17 are reinforced to reduce wear of the troughs by abrasion.

The troughs 17 are supported for reciprocable movement in a straight line on rollers 25, rotatably supported on upright brackets 26 mounted adjacent opposite ends of base plates 27, extending across the bottom of the trench 10. The horizontal legs of angles 29 extend outwardly of the sloping or flared side walls 23 of the troughs l7 and are supported on rollers 25 for movement therealong in a conventional manner. The angles may be welded or otherwise secured to the outer sides of the flared side walls 23, and'braced to said side walls as by gussets 30, welded or otherwise secured to the outer sides of the flared side walls 23 and to the horizontal and vertical legs of said angles. The angles 29 and the rollers 25 may be spaced along the trench it) at suitable intervals to form a rolling support for the trough line. As shown in FIG. 2, one angle 29 and roller 25 is shown as supporting the delivery trough section 17 of the trough line, while anelongated angle 31 is shown as extending outwardly of an outby trough 17 of the trough line and supported on longitudinally spaced rollers 25. The angles 29, however, may be of the same length if desired.

The outby end portion of the trough line 11 is held from lateral movement with respect to the trench 10 by a pair of rollers 33 supported in roller brackets 35 and having vertical faces engaging the vertical legs of angles 36 welded at the ends of the vertical and horizontal legs of said angles to the flaring side walls 23 and extending outwardly therefrom. This roller guide construction is of a conventional fonn, so need not be shown or described further herein.

A shaker conveyor drive mechanism 37 oi'a conventional form is mounted on a foundation 39 in the pit l5 and has a pair of rocker arms 40 mounted on the outer ends of a common rock shaft 41. The rock shaft 41 is journaled in a casing 42 for the shaker conveyor drive mechanism 37 and projects from opposite sides of said casing. The rocker arms #60 on the rock shaft 41 are pivotally connected at their upper ends to pull rods 43. The pull rods 43 extend from the rocker arms in a direction away from the trough line and are pivoted at their rear ends to a yoke 44 extending across a drive connector frame 45 and connected thereto on a vertical pivot pin 46.

The shaker conveyor drive mechanism 37 generally includes a drive motor 48" driving rcciprocabie drive mechanism of a conventional form (not shown) contained within the casing 42, for oscillating the rock shaft 42 at a variable angular velocity which will impart a reciprocable conveying motion to the connector frame 45 and trough line Iii.

The connector drive frame 45 includes a drive section 47 extending over the drive mechanism 37 and a connecting section 48 forming a forward continuation of said drive section, and having driving connection with a discharge trough section 17 of the shaker conveyor trough line iii, in inwardly spaced relation with respect to the discharge end of said trough section, in a manner which will hereinafter more clearly appear as this specification proceeds.

The drive frame section 47 is in the form of an open framework having parallel-spaced channels 49 connected together by parallel-spaced spacers 50. An undcrframc 51 extends along the drive section 47 and is spaced beneath and inwardly of the channels 49 and provides a reinforcement for the drive section 47 and an abutment for an abutment plate or flange 53 extending across the forward end of said drive section and underframe. The yoke 84 extends in the space between the bottom of'the channels 49 and the top of the underframe 51. The pivot pin 46 is suitably mounted at its ends in said underframe and in said drive frame section 47.

The drive section 47 is supported on the underside of the channels 49,49 on rollers 55,55 mounted on the upper ends of posts 56,56 spaced from opposite ends of the drive mechanism 37 and extending vertically of the foundation 39 along opposite sides of said drive mechanism. The rollers 55 are shown in FIG. 2 as engaging the other undersurfaces of plates 59 extending along the bottoms of the channels 49.

The drive frame 47 also has a plurality of parallel rollers 60,60 extending between the channels 49 and suitably journaled on shaft portions 61, extending beyond opposite ends of said rollers through apertured portions in the webs of said channels. The shaft portions are detachably mounted on the webs of the channels 49 on mounting plates 63 extending across the open portions and bolted or otherwise secured to the webs ofsaid channels. as shown in FlGS. l and 5.

the abutment plate or flange 93 extending across the for ward end 0! the drive frame 47 abuts an abutment plate or flange 65 extending across the rear end of the connecting frame section 48. A suitable securing means, such as nuts and bolts (not shown), is provided to secure said abutment plates in abutting engagement with each other. Said abutment plates are recessed for widths sufficient to accommodate free retraction of the trough line ill along the rollers 60,60.

The connecting frame section 48, like the drive frame section 47 includes a pair of parallel spaced channels 66 spaced apart by parallel spaced spacer members 67. A series of parallel spaced rollers 69 extend across the channel 66 in the space therebetween and are mounted at their ends in caps 70 in the same manner the rollers 60 are mounted between the channels 49.

The channels 66 have a flange or abutment plate 71 extending across the outer ends thereof and backed up by a reinforcement structure 73 disposed in the space between the channels 66. The channels 66 also have vertically spaced bcaring and retaining plates 75'secured to the webs thereof at intervals therealong. The upper plates 75 are supported on rollers 76 mounted on the upper ends of a supporting frame structure 77 for the hopper 13, on roller brackets 74. The lower plates 75 extend under the rollers 76, and serve as retainers for the connecting frame.

The abutment plate 7i. is recessed ulongfits center to accommodnte the delivery trough section 17 to pass thcreover. Said abutment plate is adapted to abut an abutment plate 79 extending laterally from opposite sides of a delivery trough section 17 and downwardly therefrom across the bottom thereof. The abutment plate 79 has opposite bracket plates 80 conforming to the angles of inclination of the flared side walls 23 of the delivery trough section 17 and detachably connected thereto as by bolts 31. A bracket plate 33 also extends from the abutment plate 79 along the bottom 2?. of the delivery trough section 17 and is detachably bolted thereto. The abutment plates 71 and '79 are bolted together as by nuts and bolts when it is desired to reciprocably drive the trough line.

During operation of the conveyor, assuming the brackets 80 and 83 are bolted to the delivery trough section 17 and the abutment plates 71 and 79 are bolted together, the drive motor as" or the shaker conveyor drive mechanism 37 may be started. The rock shaft iii and rocker arms 49 will then be oscillatibly driven back and forth, to imparta reciprocabiy conveying action to the trough line ll and convey the hot foundry sand deposited thereon, for discharge into the hopper 13.

When it is desired to clean the trench 10, it is merely necessary to disconnect the abutment plates 71 and 79 and disconnect the bracket plates 80 and 83 from the delivery trough section 117. The shaker conveyor trough line may then be retracted along the rollers 60 and 69 to its completely retracted position, shown in FIG. 4. in this retracted position of the trough line ll, the delivery end of the trough line may extend rearwardly of the drive frame 47 and be supported on a roller 88 mounted on the top of wall 89 of the pit. The supporting surface of the roller 88 is in the same plane as the supporting surfaces of the rollers 6i) and 69. to accommodate the entire trough line to be retracted from the trench i0 and supported for ready extension into said trench. The trench being free from its conveyor may then be readily cleaned at the same time the support rollers 25 and guide rollers 33 may be lubricated if necessary. The trough line may then be extended ,into the trough to again be reciprocably supported on the rollers 25. The brackets 80 and 83 may then be bolted to the trough and the abutment plates 71 and 79 may be bolted together.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which the invention may be embodied, it may readily be understood that various variations and modifications in the invention may be attained without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

lclnim:

i. in u shaker conveyor pnrticulnrly adapted to convey foundry sand and the like:

a shaker conveyor drive unit;

a shaker conveyor trough line, means supporting and guiding said trough line for reciprocable movement in a straight line;

an elongated connecting frame extending beneath and beyond said trough line and in alignment therewith;

means supporting said connecting frame for rcciprocable movement;

means driven by said shaker conveyor drive unit for reciprocably driving said connecting frame with a straight line conveying action;

other means detachably fastening said connecting frame to said shaker conveyor trough line, providing a drive connection between said connecting frame and said trough line; and

support means spaced along said connecting frame in position to support said trough line for free withdrawal along said connecting frame upon the release of said means detachably fastening said connecting frame to said shaker conveyor trough line.

2. The structure of claim 1, wherein the support means on said connecting frame for supporting the trough line for withdrawal along the connecting frame includes a plurality of a second abutment plate extending across the bottom and beyond oppositesides of said trough line and having abutting engagement with said first-mentioned abutment plate;

means securing said second abutment plate to said trough line for ready detachment from said trough line; and

other means securing saidabutment plates in abutting engagement with each other.

5. The structure of claim 4, wherein the abutment plate on said trough line is spaced from the discharge end of said trough line to accommodate the discharge of material through said connecting frame; and wherein bracketplates extending from said abutment plates extend along the sides and bottom of said trough line for detachable connection thereto.

6. in a conveyor apparatus particularly adapted for foundry sand and the like and in combination with an elongated trench extending beneath ground level and having a grizzly extending thcreover a shaker conveyor trough line comprising:

a series of connected trough sections;

a series of roller supports spaced along said trench for supporting said trough of roller for straight line reciprocable movement along said trench;

a reciprocable drive unit spaced from the discharge end of said trough line and having;

at least one oscillatibly movable drive arm, driven to impart a reciprocable conveying action to said trough line, to effeet the movement of loose material along said trough line;

an open connecting frame disposed above said drive unit and extending thereover, said connecting frame being wider than said trough line and extending beneath and being in alignment with said trough line, and extending beyond the discharge end of said trough line;

roller means supporting said connecting frame for reciprocable movement in a straight line;

a drive connection from said oscillatibly driven drive arm to said connecting frame;

said connecting frame having a plurality of rollers extending thereacross and spaced therealong and having supporting rolling surfaces in the same horizontal plane and in position to support said-trough line for free withdrawal from the trench along said trough line; and

a detachable direct drive connection between said connecting frame and said trough line accommodating withdrawal of said trough line from the trench along said rollers on said connecting frame.

7. The structure of claim 6, wherein the detachable direct driving connection includes an abutment plate extending across the front end of said connecting frame, a second abutment plate detachably mounted on said trough line and having abutting engagement with and connected to said first abutment plate.

8. The structure of claim 7, wherein the second abutment plate is spaced from the discharge end of said trough line; and

wherein means are provided to detachably secure said second abutment plate to said trough line.

9. The structure of claim 8, wherein the means for detachably securing the second abutment plate to the trough line comprises brackets plates extending from said second abutment plate along the'sidcs and bottom of the trough line;

and detachable securing means detachably securing said second abutment plate to the trough line for ready removal therefrom to accommodate retraction of the trough line along said connecting frame.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,537,574 Dated November 3, 1970 Inventor(s) Edward J. Berk It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 5, "Sept. 26, 1967" should be --Sept. 29, 1967-.

Column 4, line 18, "or" should be --for--.

Column 5, line 34, "of roller" should be -line-.

SIGNED MID SHED m9 D so FEB. 9r,1971

mm 1:. sum, J Amsting Officer Bondasiom or Patents FORM powso USCOMM-DC 00876-P00 

